Youth Review Board To Be Revived

Children's advocates in Hartford are planning to revive a juvenile review board to give youngsters a chance to learn their lesson without acquiring criminal records.

``It's about ownership by the community of its own children,'' said Art Weiner, regional manager for the state's juvenile services. ``The beauty of a juvenile review board is it diverts students without a court record. ... Why do we need to criminalize children who may need mental health care? Why not divert these kids to the services they need?''

There are about 30 juvenile review boards in the state, and Hartford had one until about eight years ago, when it was disbanded for financial reasons.

But now, activists hope to start the board by initially using in-kind services from community members, police officers, the state's juvenile probation staff, representatives from the school district, the state Department of Children and Families and the city Department of Health and Human Services.

These efforts would get the board going while organizers continued to seek grants and other funding. It also is not clear how much money the board will need.

Merva Jackson, director of the Hartford-based African Caribbean American Parents of Children with Disabilities, had the idea to revive the review board, saying it will help get troubled students on track before their behavior escalates to more serious crimes. The lack of early intervention, she said, contributes to the high number of young minority children in detention centers.

``There truly is an overrepresentation of the African American and Latino children in the juvenile system,'' Jackson said.

The review board will have a case manager to evaluate the students' life experiences, such as trouble at home or in school, that might contribute to the students' behavior. It will have the authority to direct offenders to make restitution to victims, participate in tutoring or after-school programs, get a job or an internship, perform community service such as shoveling snow for the elderly or working under the direction of church groups or shelters. It will also have the authority to refer students and families to counseling or to other social services.

Offenders who are charged with felonies or with second offenses will not qualify for the juvenile review board; they will go to court. The review board is reserved for first-time offenders accused of misdemeanors such as shoplifting or creating minor property damage and those who fall under the family service needs law, which covers youngsters who are habitually truant, run away or are beyond parental control.

Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt, project director of TeamChild at the Center for Children's Advocacy, a group affiliated with the University of Connecticut School of Law, said the review board is expected to be in place as a pilot program to serve two city neighborhoods -- Upper Albany and Frog Hollow -- by the end of summer. Each neighborhood would have its own caseworker and the board would handle about 250 cases in a year.

The board, which is still in the planning stage, would be a collaboration of the city municipal, school, state and community agencies.

If the effort is successful and organizers can secure funding, the goal is to expand it to the entire city.

Acting Police Chief Mark R. Pawlina said he wholeheartedly endorses the effort to create a new review board.

``This is a wonderful idea that addresses one of the city's most nagging problems,'' he said. ``Anything that can help make a difference with troubled young people before they become hardened criminals is worth pursuing.''

The amount of funding to take the board citywide is still unclear. The two caseworkers will need to be paid, but it's possible that social service agencies will appoint members of their staff to the job, DeGraffenreidt said, and community-based organizations may donate space. The goal is to have the board members incorporate their work on the board into their daily job responsibilities. So, for example, the police department would appoint an officer to sit on the board during normal working hours.

``It's an idea that works,'' DeGraffenreidt said. ``We think the children of Hartford will benefit from its implementation.''